Business Of Criticism
by Helen Gardner (1960)

Preface

The Profession of a Critic
(University of London, 1953)
The Sceptre And The Torch
The Historical Approach
Interpretation
The Limits of Literary Criticism
(Riddell Memorial Lectures, 1956)
The Drunkenness Of Noah
The Poetry Of St. Mark
The Historical Sense

Note: To criticise is to judge, which means praising achievement while condemning failure. By stating that "The primary critical act is a judgement, the decision that a certain piece of writing has significance and value" and omitting the words "or not", Mrs Gardner is revealing an inability to properly assess any work, for she cannot condemn.

This attitude is an inability to accept harsh truth, which is the embracing of insanity.

Hence the upholding of her judgement by the courts that "Lady Chatterly's Lover" is not obscene, when it clearly is, was merely an early example of the courts inability to defend the community from lunatics. — P Atkinson (29/11/2014)